Blackhawks fan sues after being hit in face with puck last year

Written By BY BECKY SCHLIKERMAN
Staff Reporter Posted: 07/12/2014, 05:43pm

Dr. Patricia Higgins was hit in the face with a puck at a Blackhawks game. June 9, 2013. | Alex Wroblewski~Sun-Times

Blackhawks fan Patricia Higgins has filed a personal injury lawsuit more than a year after she was struck in the face by an errant puck during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Burr Ridge doctor, who was presented with the astray puck last July, claims the United Center should have maintained and inspected safety nets “in order to avoid injury to spectators,” according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court.

Higgins was seated behind the safety net in section 115 on June 12, 2013 when the puck was “shot off the ice and struck” her, according to the lawsuit.

Among her claims in the lawsuit are that the United Center was careless and negligent in its installation and maintenance of the nets.

Because of that, Higgins “sustained injuries, suffered pain, lost wages and medical bills, and will continue to suffer such damages in the future,” according to the lawsuit.

Higgins did not respond to requests for comment. Her lawyer could not be reached.

A spokesman for the United Center declined to comment on pending litigation.

Higgins was at the Hawks game with her daughter when a puck flew over the glass toward her seats, the family said last year.

The puck opened a 1½-inch bone-deep gash extending from the bridge of her nose through her right eyebrow, which required stitches, the family said last year.

A month after she was hit, a Park Ridge businessman who picked up the puck at the game gave it to Higgins.

At that time, Higgins, who suffered a concussion, said she still had flashes of light in her vision, and was unable to smell or taste, but expected to make a full recovery.

In the lawsuit, Higgins seeks an unspecified amount of money and legal fees.